1. Field of the Invention.
This invention is directed to a doll construction allowing for a soft-bodied doll to have drink-and-wet features, and to a method for manufacting such dolls.
2. State of the Art.
Childrens"" dolls have existed for millenia. Typically, the designer""s intent is to provide a doll that is as life-like as possible, balanced against the costs of manufacturing and distributing the doll. One of the most xe2x80x9clife-likexe2x80x9d qualities a doll can display is the ability to be xe2x80x9cfedxe2x80x9d a liquid and to xe2x80x9cevacuatexe2x80x9d the liquid, a so-called drink-and-wet doll. Such dolls are typically constructed with a hard or plastic body, having a head section with a hole where the mouth is located, and a hole in the crotch area, and some sort of plumbing connecting the two holes. When a toy baby bottle is filled with liquid (water, typically) and used to feed the doll, the liquid from the bottle enters the hole in the mouth, flows through the plumbing, and exits in the crotch area.
Hunter et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,441, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a xe2x80x9cmultiple function dollxe2x80x9d (e.g., including a mechanism for hand-clapping, speaking, etc.) that includes the basic structure of a hard body head with a hole in the mouth section, a hard body housing the multiple function generators, and a hard body crotch area having a hole, with a tube joining the two holes. The doll also includes a pinch valve so that the doll will not wet until it is placed on a simulated chamber-pot. This patent does disclose that such a doll can be constructed of a material including soft cloth, but provides no other details about the specific construction of such a doll.
ElIman et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,901, describes a hard-bodied doll having a liquid reservoir therein, filled from the doll""s mouth, and a valving mechanism allowing the doll to wet when the mechanism is activated.
In another prior art doll, a soft-bodied doll having a typical hard plastic head was provided with a tube from the mouth to a cloth (soft-bodied) crotch area. The tube was secured to a hole in the crotch area with a grommet attached to the cloth.
Soft-bodied dolls are generally more popular than hard-bodied dolls, especially for a doll simulating an infant or child. However, providing a drink-and-wet function for a soft-bodied doll creates the problem of the doll getting wet at least in the butt and/or crotch area: the soft material of the body absorbs the water (or other liquid) the child feeds to the doll, which can lead to mold or mildew problems. Another problem is that the connection between the tube and the butt or crotch region must be attached directly to the fabric without compromising the fluid conduit from the mouth; and attachment of a tube or grommet directly to fabric can result in weak points and stresses in the fabric at the point of attachment.
In light of the following, one object of this invention is to provide a soft-bodied doll that exhibits a drink and wet function without the problem of the soft body portion becoming wet or absorbing the liquid evacuated by the doll. Another object is to provide a soft-bodied drink and wet doll with better xe2x80x9cplumbingxe2x80x9d connections between the mouth and the crotch areas, thereby reducing stress in the soft body fabric in the butt or crotch region. Thus, a related object is providing a soft-bodied drink-and-wet doll where the fluid connection at the butt or crotch area is sturdier than prior art techniques.
As such, in summary this invention provides a doll comprising a hard head having a mouth portion with a hole leading to a coupling, a hard butt portion having a crotch portion with a hole leading to a coupling, a soft body connecting the head and crotch portions, and a tube (or other liquid conduit) connecting the two couplings.